Founders and Team

Founders

Greg Sullivan is CEO and cofounder of AFAR Media. Greg launched AFAR in 2009 with cofounder Joe Diaz, and AFAR has already become one of the leading travel media companies in the world. Its flagship magazine has twice been named Best Travel Magazine in America. AFAR’s groundbreaking website provides distinctive travel guides for destinations around the globe and enables users to choose their favorite recommendations to build trip plans they can use on their mobile phones wherever they are. AFAR also works with top brands, hotel companies and destinations to provide content, inspiration, and advice to effectively connect with and serve discerning travelers.

AFAR also has a nonprofit foundation, Learning AFAR, which provides scholarships to lower-income high school students to go on life changing trips and a division, AFAR Experiences, that puts on travel events in conjunction with destination marketing programs around the world.

Greg started his career as a corporate securities attorney and later an investment banker before launching a series of successful entrepreneurial ventures, including the world’s largest selling coin-operated basketball game manufacturer and the second largest used car sales and finance company in the USA.

Next Trip: Punta Mita or Puerto Vallarta
Best Local Discovery: Gigi’s Oysteria on Green Street

Joe Diaz is Chief Product Officer and cofounder of AFAR Media. Joe launched AFAR in 2009 with cofounder Greg Sullivan, and AFAR has already become one of the world’s leading travel media companies. Its flagship magazine has twice been named “America’s Best Travel Magazine.” AFAR’s digital platform is designed to provide experience seekers with rich destination that turn their mobile phones into the next generation of travel guide and trip planner. The company also has a nonprofit foundation, Learning AFAR, that provides scholarships to lower-income high school students to go on life changing trips and a division, AFAR Experiences that puts on travel events in conjunction with destination marketing programs around the world. Finally, AFAR works with top brands, hotel companies and destinations to provide content, inspiration and advice to effectively connect with and serve discerning travelers.

Joe was born and raised in Palm Springs, CA and grew up in a bi-cultural family with his father from Spain and mother from San Francisco. He graduated from Duke University and started his career with Teach For America where he taught 5th, 7th, and 8th grade in Phoenix, Arizona. Joe went on to found a successful real estate investment company, which he sold in 2006 before embarking on living life AFAR. He passionately believes that experiential travel is the best form of education and the more people who travel in a curious and open-minded way, the better our world will be. Joe resides between New York City and San Francisco.

Next Trip: Aspen, CO
Best Local Discovery: Strand Bookstore

Advertising, Sales & Marketing

Prior to joining AFAR, Ellen served as Vice President and General Manager of Weekend Edition & Luxury Group at The Wall Street Journal, where she oversaw sales and developed strategies to drive revenue in the luxury categories through all properties and strategic partnerships. Ellen originally joined The Journal to launch its successful lifestyle magazine WSJ.

Previously, she spent 17 years at American Express Publishing, the last seven of which as Senior Vice President and Publisher at Travel + Leisure. During her tenure at Travel + Leisure, the magazine experienced a 55% growth in ad pages and revenue and successfully lead the category. The Travel + Leisure brand extended to six countries, TV, the Web and ancillary products. Travel + Leisure received frequent accolades as the world’s leading travel magazine. Ellen collaborated in the development of key platforms that continue to drive revenue and differentiate the brand. Some include, World’s Best Awards, Design Awards, Marketwatch conferences and strategic alliances. Ellen has sat on the boards of: NYC & Co., Taj Hotels, Starwood Hotels, Kiwi, The Caribbean Tourism Organization, and the Audrey Palmer Hawks Scholarship Fund. She graduated from Baruch College and received an AAS in advertising from the Fashion Institute of Technology.

Next Trip: Cartagena, Columbia to dance in the streets with locals
Best Local Discovery: The downstairs after-hours at Il Bagatto in the East Village

With over 10 years experience creating digital and print advertising solutions, Bryan brings a wealth of knowledge about the media landscape and client-driven marketing solutions to the team. Prior to joining AFAR, Bryan was an advertising director at National Geographic Adventure, senior sales director at the New Yorker, and most recently served as the Associate Publisher at Outside Magazine.

Next Trip: Lucerne, Switzerland
Best Local Discovery: The Gowanus Yacht Club

Maggie has worked in the publishing industry for 10 years with a focus on growing digital and mobile revenue for traditional media brands. Prior to joining AFAR, she served as Vice President of Client Solutions for USA TODAY and USA WEEKEND, where she oversaw the ad sales marketing strategy for the national sales team. As an enthusiastic traveler and magazine junkie, landing a role at AFAR has been an exciting and welcome adventure for Maggie.

Next Trip: Basque Country, Spain
Best Local Discovery: Casa Adela on Avenue C

Elizabeth AllertonExecutive Director, International Sales

Terry DeeganExecutive Director, International Sales

Barry Brown joined AFAR in 2010. He has been serving the travel industry for over 20 years, starting at DDB Needham Advertising in the late 1980’s. Barry counts among his greatest professional accomplishments the conception and development of the Bermuda Music Festival, now one of Bermuda’s largest consumer events. He was at Amex Publishing for 10 years, where in addition to Travel + Leisure he took on roles with Travel + Leisure Family as Advertising Director and Director of Strategic Partnerships for Corporate Sales, managing corporate and global programs for Australia Tourism, Canada and others. He serves the industry tirelessly the as a longtime member of the Caribbean Tourism Organization Board of Directors, CTO Allied Committee Chairman, Audrey Palmer Hawkes Foundation Board, and CTO Foundation Board, Association of Travel Marketing Executives Board of Directors in addition to other travel associations.

Next Trip: New Orleans Jazzfest
Best Local Discovery: The Fort Greene (Brooklyn) Flea Market

Prior to running West Coast Sales for AFAR magazine and AFAR.com, Onnalee served as the West Coast Sales Director for billboard.com, focused on integrated sales, events, and digital. Prior to this she handled digital media sales for Hearst, Warner Bros and Sugar inc., selling to brands across all categories. Onnalee began her career in print sales, and helped launch several titles, most notably, Time inc., Teen People Magazine, consequently running the west coast office for eight years. Always seeking out her next adventure, she now gets to combine her skill set with her personal passion for travel.

Next Trip: Croatia and Greece
Best Local Discovery: Surfing or stand-up paddling the waves of Manhattan Beach

Yolande HellerDirector, West Coast

Veronica BaessoDirector, Travel

Veronica hails from the picturesque town of Verona, Italy and considers herself a true global citizen, having lived and worked in several major cities including Milan, London, Berlin, and most recently New York. Prior to joining AFAR as Travel Manager, Veronica was Marketing Manager for the hospitality brand Il Mulino New York and Founder of her own travel and lifestyle digital platform Ronnie Spirit, dedicated to the solo female traveler. She completed her studies in Economics at the University of Verona and received her Master’s in International Marketing at the prestigious European School of Economics in London and her experience spans across media, lifestyle and luxury. Veronica has a serious case of wanderlust and is always ready to travel deeper.

Next Trip: Thailand or Cambodia
Best Local Discovery: The Mobile Vintage Shop – 28 Scott in Bushwick

Laney Doland Sales Manager

Laney joins the AFAR team after spending her career with some of the most iconic brands in magazine publishing. Having worked on brands including InStyle, PEOPLE, Food + Wine and Real Simple, Laney was inspired to use her skill set towards something she loves: travel! Having grown up in Kansas City, Laney is working to travel across the globe, but for now she cherishes the friends and experiences she’s had along the way.

Next Trip: Reykjavik, Iceland
Best Local Discovery: Ham and cheddar sandwich at John Clearey’s pub in Kilkenny, Ireland

Lou joins AFAR from Lonely Planet where he spent 7 years in global marketing and sales, with a focus on developing custom programs for client partners. A true experiential traveler, Lou has been to over 120 countries and all 50 states.

Next Trip: Zanzibar
Best Local Discovery: Preston Family Vineyards

Donna DelmasDigital Ad Operations Director

Charles Moran Digial Ad Operations Manager

Taylor SchuurmansCampaign Manager

Taylor comes to AFAR with almost five years of digital experience and a background in ad operations and market research. After receiving a B.A. in English from University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, VA (where he learned to write some pretty great emails!), he interned at Nickelodeon, fulfilling a childhood dream. He went on to work at DoubleVerify, About.com, and Operative. Since he was 2 years old, he spent most summers at Lake George in Hague and Silver Bay, NY, and still tries to make it up at least once every season to see family and friends.

Next Trip: Tibet, Germany, Hawaii, or Cuba
Best Local Discovery: He’s not telling!

Christine CorvalanDigital Sales Planner

Katie Galeotti Marketing & Special Projects Director

A New York City native, Katie got her start in publishing when she interned at Esquire Magazine while attending school full-time at Fordham University. She went on to work at some of the world’s top media brands, including Cosmopolitan, Allure, REAL SIMPLE, and, most recently, VOGUE – where she won Marketer of the Year in 2013. Katie’s love of travel and languages began at a very early age, when her father – who was born and raised in Italy – took her back to Tuscany each summer to spend time with family and immerse herself in the culture. Insanely obsessed with food, fitness, and all things beauty, Katie also contributes to health & wellness site, project: CLEAN FOOD.

Next Trip: The Beautiful Beaches of Belize
Best Local Discovery: Incredibly authentic pizza at San Matteo on the Upper East Side

Michelle CastEvents Director

Chris graduated from Parsons School of Design with a BFA in Fine Arts and Graphic Design. In recent years, Chris has worked with the likes of Jack Spade, Gourmet Magazine, and Ogilvy & Mather. With a varied interest in travel, food, fashion, and design, Chris is excited to bring his experience to AFAR.

Next Trip: UK, Sweden, Berlin and (fingers crossed…) Cape Town
Best Local Discovery: Mominette

Maci joined the AFAR team in Spring of 2015 with previous experience in Creative Services and Marketing at TUMI Inc. Born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, Maci received her Humanities degree from the University of Louisville while actively competing on their Division I Volleyball team (Go Cards!). An insatiable curiosity paired with a spontaneity to try new things, led to her new home at AFAR – which quickly became evident as a perfect fit, both professionally and personally. Although new to the Travel Publishing world, she remains inspired by her perpetual wanderlust promoted by her role with such a world-widening company. With emerging adventures on the horizon, Maci is anxious to share unique stories of her own.

Next Trip: Cape Town, South Africa
Best Local Discovery: A Magic from Bluestone Lane

Irene WangSenior Integrated Marketing Manager

Sveva MarcangeliSenior Integrated Marketing Manager

Sveva previously worked at Hearst for premium brands such as Cosmopolitan, Women’s Health, and Seventeen. Prior to that, she was at Time Inc working for DEPARTURES magazine and worked on the brand side at Luxottica and Buccellati. Her deep love of travel started at an early age. She is truly a global citizen, an Italian-American born in Hong Kong, raised in Japan nad living in the U.S. since, Sveva finds herself going back to her hometown in Italy whenever she can. She is trilingual and speaks fluent Italian and French. You can catch her travels on her travel blog SVADORE!

Next Trip: IrelandBest Local Discovery: Coming soon!

Rachel AmicoIntegrated Marketing Manager

Grace RennerMarketing Coordinator

Lindsey CohenSales Coordinator

Julia joined AFAR as executive editor in 2008, and was promoted to editor in chief in 2011. She last served as deputy editor of the DIY design magazine ReadyMade. During her tenure, the magazine was a finalist for a National Magazine Award in general excellence. Before making stuff at ReadyMade, Julia was part of the original launch team behind Time Out New York Kids, a spinoff of Time Out New York. She started her career as a writer at Business Week and the New York Daily News. Her obsessions include the writer Joan Didion, palm trees, and Paris in the 1950s.

After working for four years in custom publishing, Jeremy took off with his wife to travel the world for a year and a half. Having slept in the shadow of Mt. Everest, slid down a Chilean volcano on their rear ends, and innertubed with glowworms in New Zealand, they returned to San Francisco. There, Jeremy worked as the managing editor of Diablo magazine and then as the associate managing editor of Via, a regional travel publication published by AAA.

Next Trip: Canadian Rockies
Best Local Discovery: The Pacific Pinball Museum in Alameda

Tara has been working as a photo editor since 1998 when she began her career at BlackBook Magazine in NYC. She has been involved with several national publications, among them Talk, Seventeen, InStyle, and Lucky. Going from the fashion world in New York to the world outside my door here in California has been an amazing transition. I am equally passionate about both and feel lucky that each magazine I’ve been apart of has reflected that.

Next Trip: Tanzania.
Best Local Discovery: The thousands of miles of trails crisscrossing California’s state and national parks. Anderson valleys Vineyards.

Jennifer FlowersDeputy Editor

Prior to joining AFAR, Jennifer spent eight years at Travel+Leisure magazine, most recently as hotels & food editor, concurrently serving as travel correspondent at Food & Wine. A self-described hotel brat, she grew up as an hotelier’s daughter in Asia and the U.S., and even got to be real-life Eloise when she lived in New York City’s Plaza Hotel. Things she loves: foreign supermarkets and room upgrades. Things she detests: impersonal service and hotel bedspreads. Jennifer is based in Manhattan. Find her on Instagram at @jenniferleeflowers and on Twitter at @jennflowers.

Next Trip: Coming soon!
Best Local Discovery: For some of the best Sichuan food in New York City, take the 7 subway line into Flushing, Queens, and visit Spicy & Tasty.

Kate Sommers-DawesDeputy Digital Editor

Tim ChesterSenior Editor

Michelle BaranTravel News Editor

Michelle joined AFAR as Travel News Editor in August 2018. Previously, she had served as senior editor at industry publication Travel Weekly since 2007. Her Travel Weekly cover story about women traveling the globe solo, “Courage and Caution,” was a 2014 finalist for a Folio magazine Eddie Award. Michelle has also freelanced for several travel publications, and co-wrote the Frommer’s EasyGuide to River Cruising. Prior to Travel Weekly, Michelle was an editor at Conde Nast’s Footwear News. She received her Master’s in Journalism from Northwestern University, and completed undergraduate studies in French and anthropology at UCLA. Michelle currently lives in Concord, California, outside of San Francisco, with her husband Jonathan, and their two-year-old son, Niko.

Next Trip: Nevada City, California
Best Local Discovery: States Coffee in Martinez, California

In these quiet days leading up to her Powerball win, Ann lives in New York with her husband and two teenaged children. She likes road trips, local bars, getting lost, and laughing, so Ireland ranks high on her list of favorite places. Ann is a fan of literature, museums, history, high-minded cinema, and bad television.

Next Trip: College tours with my kid.
Best Local Discovery: Porsena (especially the Sunday night movie series. Or the Tuesday regional prix fixe dinners. Or the nightly risotto specials)

Natalie BeauregardEditor, Travel Guides

Natalie comes to AFAR after time as an editorial assistant at ARTnews, a senior editor at Gilt City and a food and travel writer at her apartment. In addition to an obsession with trying every new restaurant in New York, she suffers from a constant case of wanderlust. She also believes she should’ve been born in Italy, wishes she lived through the 1960’s and wants to be a professional ballerina when she grows up. The Met is her happy place but she’d trade it for the ski slopes any day.

Next Trip: Peru, Croatia or Vietnam
Best Local Discovery: North Brooklyn Farms (it has some of the best skyline views that nobody knows about)

Lyndsey MatthewsDestination News Editor

Lyn HorstPhoto Editor

Lyn began her love of travel photography at age ten, on the day her mom gave her a Kodak instamatic camera (which she still has) just before the family trip to Yellowstone. The photo albums have grown in size ever since, from Yellowstone to Galapagos, to the remote wilderness of Utah. She has been lucky enough to have combined her joy of photography to her career for over the past ten years.

Next Trip: Bay of Fundy, or Iceland
Best Local Discovery: The Roundhouse, Beacon NY

A New Jersey native, Jason worked at Out magazine and Good Housekeeping magazine in New York City before moving to San Francisco to join the AFAR team. Diving into editorial design right out of college, he has assisted on a number of magazine redesigns, and has won Merit Awards from the Society of Publication Designers. Jason has also created illustrations for Money, Manhattan magazine, and Out magazine in his spare time.

Next Trip: Peru, or Greece
Best Local Discovery: Domo Sushi in Hayes Valley

Emily BlevinsJunior Designer

Rachel McCordAssociate Photo Editor

Ever since Rachel and her dad built a darkroom in their garage in high school, she was hooked and hell-bent on making a career out of the passion she’d found. After growing up barefoot and always outdoors in gorgeous southern Oregon, and earning her BFA from Biola University in California, she moved to a new city every few years, went on cross-country road trips and studied art in Italy. With a background in fine art photography and small business management, Rachel freelanced her way through Los Angeles, Portland and San Francisco as a photographer + editor while aiming to jumpstart her print editorial career. She now finds herself over the moon at AFAR – powered by espresso, puns & the desire to see the world more clearly. You can often find Rachel collaborating on films or projects with fellow artists, shooting with medium format cameras as often as she can, or getting outta town to spend time with friends, family & her growing tussle of nieces and nephews.

Next Trip: London or Belize
Best Local Discovery: The Napoleon at Mara’s Italian Pastry in North Beach

Aislyn GreeneSenior Editor

After a few years spent tracking the dizzying rise of technology for a Seattle tech and business journal, Aislyn headed south (as in California) to return to her first love: travel and magazines. She spent two years digging into all things Washington and Oregon as the NW travel editor for Sunset magazine, before hopping to AFAR.

Next Trip: Kauai, Vancouver B.C., Tokyo
Best Local Discovery: Post-cycling beers at the Presidio Yacht Club

Nicole AntonioManaging Editor

Before joining AFAR, Nicole worked on geology books as a project manager and wore multiple hats at Counterpoint Press, working on everything from inventory to acquisitions. There, some of her favorite projects included a two-pronged travelogue about Tibet, the memoir of a young woman making a living as an art installation in Los Angeles, and a political thriller based in Shanghai. When she’s not nerding out in Excel or planning a whirlwind getaway, Nicole can be caught writing Attenborough-inspired captions for Instagram photos of her absurdly fluffy cat.

Next Trip: Portland, Oregon
Best Local Discovery: Tanpopo in San Francisco’s Japantown

Maggie FullerAssociate Editor

Maggie has always had a habit of traveling, a knack for getting side-tracked, and an inability to keep her stories to herself. After 10 years of exploring from the mountains of Nepal to the waters of the Caribbean, a few attempts at travel blogging, and experience in freelance social media consulting for small Bay Area companies, she joined AFAR in September 2015 as a digital intern. Now, she could not be more thrilled to continue with this community as an editorial assistant. Her favorite travel moments usually involve finding out what’s around that corner, climbing on rocks, and anywhere with a beach and a book.

Next Trip: Turkey
Best Local Discovery: China Beach on a sunny weekday or the San Gregorio General Store for live music on a weekend.

Sara ButtonAssistant Editor

Born and raised in the dry heat of the Sonoran Desert, Sara spent a previous life teaching middle school Latin and excavating ancient Italian artifacts before embarking on a year of solo travel. She made hostel beds in Ireland, attempted to eat every dessert in Istanbul, and hiked volcanoes in Costa Rica, writing along the way for Go! Girl Guides. By the time she’d earned her MFA from the University of Pittsburgh, her work had appeared in BBC Travel, Travel + Leisure, and Pittsburgh Magazine, among others. These days Sara is celebrating her new digs at AFAR. She’s always on the hunt for excellent ghost tours, funky museums, and every manner of food.

Next trip: Iceland or Thailand
Best Local Discovery: Burlingame Museum of Pez Memorabilia

Sarah BuderAssistant Editor

Web Team

Anique HallidayDirector of Product

Anique is an award-winning digital product leader with over twelve years’ experience working for a range of media companies including Foreign Affairs, Saveur, Bonnier Corporation, and Learning Matters, a PBS-affiliated television production company. An avid traveller, Anique prefers trips to the oft-overlooked destinations (Macedonia, anyone?) and arriving without much of a plan (maximum adventure). She was raised in Texas, lived in New York for ten years, called Abu Dhabi home for a bit, and is now happily based in sunny Oakland, California.

Danny Jiang Director of Engineering

Yue Weng joined the AFAR team in October 2014 with a passion to develop the best product for AFAR’s online properties. Yue Weng started his career after graduating from Madison, WI, focusing on bringing web designs to life through the use of front-end technologies. He eventually grew his skill set to help with the development efforts at the back-end through the use of Ruby to help support his front-end work. Prior to AFAR, Yue Weng worked for a Bay Area company that aims to revolutionize the fashion scene. In his free time, he loves to sip a Blue Bottle coffee while strolling along San Francisco’s Embarcadero walk way.

Next Trip: Liverpool, UK to watch a Liverpool Football match
Best Local Discovery: Sa Jai Thai

Chris PachecoDigital Analytics Manager

Chris joined AFAR in March of 2018, returning to digital publishing after several years in marketing at SFMOMA, the San Francisco Symphony, and a tech startup. Her broad experience helps her work with many different teams at AFAR to meet their digital data needs (and dreams!). Chris was born and raised in Oklahoma City, and lived in San Francisco for almost 10 years before moving to beautiful Albany, California, in 2017. She is a newbie gardener, determined sourdough baker, and amateur violin player. Her degree in linguistics comes in handy for playing Boggle and Scrabble. She’s recently traveled to Japan, Scotland, and the South of France, and is always ready for the next adventure.

Next Trip: Portugal and the Azores
Best Local Discovery: The Albany Bulb

Anni CuccinelloDirector of Audience Development

Rosalie TinelliSocial Media Manager

Cathryn MahoneyAudience Development Coordinator

Cathryn comes to AFAR after spending some time working at Condé Nast’s Food Innovation Group and DuJour Magazine. After graduating from Le Moyne College in 2015, she made her way back home to Connecticut with dreams of working in media in NYC. Cathryn’s love of traveling began at a young age where she attempted to convince her parents to agree to one of her many elaborate vacation plans. It wasn’t until 2013 that she was able to FINALLY make it out of the states and over to Italy with her Grammy to kickstart a permanent case of wanderlust. In her spare time, Cathryn enjoys laughing, cracking open a cold one with the boys and cruisin’ around the LES.

Maria StegnerSenior UX Designer

Maria hails from the sunny shores of coastal Greece, where she spent her early childhood enjoying the great outdoors with her family before moving to New York. A literal tree hugger, Maria got her Master’s degree in environmental engineering so that she would someday be able to design systems that protect the environment from human activity. After a brief stint as an engineer, she returned to school to study art with a focus on sculpture (mostly welding and metal casting), and later graphic design at SVA. She began her career as a designer working for media companies like Time Out New York, Travel + Leisure, Time Inc., and Meredith Corp. At AFAR, Maria’s goal is to leverage her love for travel and exploration, along with her expertise in visual and UX design, to create delightful, user-centric digital experiences and products. After hours, Maria participates in UX hackathons that benefit non-profits or civic organizations; attends design and front-end web development meetups to keep up with what’a happening in the tech scene; teaches front-end web development at General Assembly; and hacks together side projects with fellow designers and developers. When not working or teaching, Maria is happiest when she is outside being active: running and biking around New York, skiing in Vermont, kayaking in Lake George, or surfing in Rockaway Beach.

Jonathan ChuIT Manager

Before coming to the U.S., Jonathan had years of experience in computer sales and customer support in Taiwan. Later on, he worked for Ogilvy and Mather and Giant Creative Strategy in San Francisco as their IT support point of contact. By day he does IT stuff. By night, as an avid toy collector with an art background, he has been working with fellow collectors, artists and toy companies, like Sideshow Collectibles, on subjects (Terminator, Alien, Predator, etc.) that he is familiar with to come up with ideas for collectibles. It is a great balancer for Jonathan. Oh, and he is one of those who gets in line to see the first screening of films like Star Wars!

Operations

A media veteran of over 17 years, Laura’s had involvement in finance, digital and events strategy, audience development and research. She has a soft spot for launches and was part of the original team not only for Afar, but also Dwell and 8020 Media. She’s also learned some valuable lessons from tenures with more established players such as Health and Mother Jones. Mostly, she just loves a good challenge and enjoys collaborating with teams with diverse talents.

Matthew has worked in the accounting field for 8 years and got started in the publishing industry during his tenure at Dwell Magazine. When he isn’t completing month-end closes, budgets, and monitoring the AFAR bank accounts he enjoys hiking, listening to records, and working on the record label he started with friends, Voltaire records.

Next Trip: Barcelona and Paris
Best Local Discovery: Hog Island Oyster Company

Breanna comes to AFAR with over 10 years of Human Resources experience in Finance and IT Consulting in both California and New York. She is excited to combine her love of travel with her HR expertise and knowledge. When not working, Breanna is often out exploring all the Bay Area has to offer.

Next Trip: Montreal
Best Local Discovery: Lake Merritt – on sunny Sundays you can expect an eclectic group of Oaklanders bbq’ing, playing music and enjoying the warmth on the best side of the Bay.

Erika StallworthStaff Accountant

Jill is a seasoned marketing and event production specialist who gets to combine her two loves—travel and creating memorable experiences—through the programming and execution of all AFAR Experiences events. Jill came to AFAR from TED Conferences, where she directed multiple facets of the event operations for its major US and international programs. Prior to becoming an event producer, Jill spent her formative years in Whistler, BC, where she was director of marketing for Tourism Whistler.

Next Trip: Buenos Aires
Best Local Discovery: The monthly letter writing club at Vancouver’s Regional Assembly of Text, where this gorgeous, yet lost, art is celebrated—paper, pens and Smith Coronas provided!